Chapter 23
Dutton stared at the scene at his brother’s house and felt a deep sense of relief. Guilt immediately followed.
“Dutton!” Dahlia ran into his arms and hugged him with everything she had.
Shortcake stood at his feet, lightly pawing at his leg.
He reached down and picked her up then hugged them both. “What happened here?”
“You’re never going to believe it,” she said with a soft chuckle. “I barely believe it myself.” She pulled back and stared up at him. “Your face is red and you have a bruise forming under your left eye. It looks like we both have some catching up to do.”
He nodded and pulled her in for another hug. Neither of them spoke while they held each other. It wasn’t until he heard the siren of the sheriff’s vehicle arriving that he let her go.
They stood together until Drew climbed out of the cruiser.
Drew walked over and held his hand out to Dutton. “Thank you for your help today. We never would have saved all those structures if it weren’t for you.”
Dahlia glanced up at the still smoky air. It was faint now, but still there. She glanced at Drew. “Are all the fires out?”
“Yes. All five of them.”
“Five!” she exclaimed.
“And there were three more firebombs ready to go off. One at the fire station, one at the sheriff’s department, and the last one at the haunted mansion at the fairgrounds.”
Dahlia blanched. “You can’t be serious.”
“Very serious,” Drew said. Grady had targeted all of the fire witches in town, probably to keep them busy while he went after Dahlia. Dutton’s stomach turned just thinking about it.
Another cruiser arrived, and one of Drew’s deputies stepped out. They chatted for a few minutes before they took Grady off Briggs’s hands and put him in the back of the other officer’s cruiser.
Dahlia walked over to the officer and said, “These belong to Grady.”
“We’ll see that they are logged with his other personal items,” the deputy said.
“Thanks,” Dahlia said and walked back over to Dutton.
“What was that about?” Dutton asked her, his head starting to ache.
“He attacked me. I charged at him, and when I yanked his necklace off, his mother appeared in ghost form. The watch produced his dad. It’s a long story, but to keep it concise, they scolded him on his life choices, explained how Benny stole his inheritance, and then begged him to be a better man.
He told them he’d try. After that, they slowly faded back into the ether.
It wasn’t the reunion one usually hopes for, but maybe they managed to get through to him. ”
“I’m not sure turning over a new leaf is going to save him now. Arson is a serious charge, and this time, the sheriff is my alibi, so the Magical Task Force isn’t going to be able to pin it on me, no matter what the magical signature says.”
“That’s true. Let’s go inside,” Drew said. “We have a few things to discuss.”
“Sure.” Dutton said, his voice hoarse.
They were all more than a little tired, but Dahlia seemed to have found some renewed energy. She clutched at his hand and kept whispering about how it was all over now. Grady was in custody, and they could put it all behind them.
If only it was that easy.
Once they, along with Briggs and Melissa, were seated at Briggs’s table, Drew placed both hands on the table and said, “Freddie spilled his guts.”
“Who’s Freddie?” Briggs and Melissa asked at the same time.
“Benny’s stepson,” Dutton said. “I ran into him this morning. It was… unpleasant.”
Dahlia let out a gasp and searched Dutton’s face. “Is that where the black eye came from?”
Dutton nodded. “I’m okay.”
“It appears that Freddie is afraid of being locked away with Benny for the rest of his life, so he told Deputy Hunt everything,” Drew said. “He and Grady were officially here as the designers of the haunted mansion.”
Dahlia gasped. “No way!”
“Makes sense,” Dutton said, not at all surprised. If anyone wanted to wage psychological warfare on the town, it would be those two. Plus, it was a great cover.
“But why?” Briggs asked. “If they were here to go after Dutton, why bother with that?”
“They’ll do just about anything for money,” Dutton said.
“It helps with their cover, and since the harvest festival is a temporary event, it was a perfect fit. They get in, get paid for something they threw together, commit their crimes, and then leave. No one remembers them well enough for them ever to get caught.”
“That tracks,” Drew said. “Their real reason for being here was to frame Dutton for arson as a payback for putting away Benny. Apparently, Grady is really good at mimicking magical signatures. He’s been honing that talent for years after Benny told him to work on it.
That was all they were supposed to do, but Grady took it as a personal vendetta to go after Dahlia. ”
“He was angry that Dutton messed up the home he had with Benny,” Dahlia said, filling in the blanks. “He lost his parents really young, had a terribly abusive foster family before ending up with Benny, and has been loyal to Benny ever since.”
“That happens more than I care to admit,” Drew said. “We understand that Benny was abusive, but when it’s better than the last placement and an authority figure makes a kid feel like they matter, even when they are grooming them for a life of crime, that does a number on a kid.”
Dutton couldn’t imagine what Grady’s first foster home must have been like if it was worse than being with Benny.
“Anyway,” Drew continued. “Benny was scheduled to get out in a few months. He told Grady and Freddie if they framed Dutton, then they’d be his second in command when he got back in business. Benny basically ordered a hit on you, Dutton.”
“I imagine he will never be satisfied until I’m either dead or behind bars,” Dutton said flatly.
“Possible, but Dutton,” Drew said, “with Freddie’s testimony, Benny isn’t getting out anytime soon. He’ll also likely be transferred to a maximum security facility where he can’t communicate with those on the outside. We’ll do everything we can to make sure he can’t get to you again.”
Dutton nodded, but he wasn’t convinced. There was always a means of getting to someone on the outside.
“I’ll need you all to come down to the station later today to make a statement. But otherwise, I think we’re done here,” Drew said.
Dutton stood and shook the man’s hand. “Thank you, Sheriff. For everything. Does this mean the Magical Task Force will stop sniffing around me?”
“I’ll make sure of it.” He nodded to the rest of them and then let himself out.
As soon as Dutton took his seat again, Shortcake jumped into his lap. He instantly felt a little better with the fluffball curled up on him.
“Don’t ever do that again,” Briggs said, his eyes flashing with anger.
“Do what? Kick the crap out of a bad guy?” Dutton asked, too tired to fight.
“Leave to go fight some jackass who is trying to blow up buildings all by yourself! At least take me with you,” Briggs thundered.
“Hey now,” Melissa said. “I’m not going to be too happy if you start running off to battle criminals with your brother.”
“I know,” Briggs said mildly. “I’m in no hurry either, but if he’s going, he needs back up. I’ll take you with me. You’re my secret weapon anyway.”
Melissa chuckled. “True. In that case, all right.”
“I’m not going to be chasing after any more criminals,” Dutton said, praying that was the truth.
He stood and started to pace. “But this time? It was on me. I’m the reason Dahlia was targeted.
The reason that so many businesses are now dealing with fire damage.
If it weren’t for me, none of this would have happened.
I had to do something. Do you understand? ”
“We understand, but it’s not your fault,” Briggs said.
“It’s my fault that Dahlia was attacked today. If I’d stayed, I’d have been here and—”
“You were baited,” Dahlia said. “Grady laid a trap. You stepped in it. If you hadn’t left, he probably would have blown up my house.
Or got to me when I was at work. Or grocery shopping.
Or any other mundane thing I do. It was always going to be like this.
Don’t you see, Dutton? It’s not your fault. It’s Grady’s.”
“She’s right, brother,” Briggs said.
Melissa nodded. “When the lady’s right, she’s right.”
Dutton grabbed the back of the chair and hung his head. “Then why do I feel so much guilt?”
Dahlia rose and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m safe. We’re all safe. That’s all that matters now.”
He wanted to believe her. But what if it happened again? He could never live with himself.
“Come on. Let’s go home. We both need some sleep,” she said.
Dutton didn’t argue. He didn’t even want to try.
The only place he wanted to be was in her bed with his arms around her and Shortcake cuddled up behind him.
After they said their goodbyes and expressed their gratitude to Briggs and Melissa, he let her take him and Shortcake home.
Once again, he didn’t even bother to take his car. They could get it later.
“I’m going to run you a bath,” she said as she unlocked her front door. “Then I’ll make some tea.”
“How about you make the tea, I’ll run the bath, and you can join me,” he said.
She glanced back at him. “You want me to join you in the tub?”
“Yes.” He didn’t want to be anywhere that he couldn’t touch her for more than a few minutes. Not right then.
“All right.”
Shortcake followed him into the bathroom. He looked over at her and chuckled. “Now I know you don’t want to take a bath.”
She gave him a little yip that strongly implied she definitely wasn’t game.
“You’re something else, you know that girl?” Dutton turned on the taps, poured in some bubble bath, and lit the few candles that were beside the tub. Once it was full, he stripped and climbed in.
Shortcake curled up on the bathmat and turned her back on him. Apparently she wanted to be close but didn’t need to see him in his birthday suit. That was more than fine with him.
“Tea is served,” Dahlia said. She placed the tray on the counter and handed him a cup. She’d arrived already wearing a robe, and Dutton watched as she slipped out of it. Her body was a lovely shade of rosy cream, and all he wanted to do was touch her everywhere.
She retrieved her cup of tea and said, “Hold this for me?”
He took it and stared longingly at her as she stepped into the bath and then settled against him. He looked over her shoulder at the swell of her breasts and let out a contented sigh. Maybe he’d become a bath connoisseur. But only if they included her.
Dahlia took her teacup and sipped. “Drink,” she said gently. “It’s supposed to calm your nerves.”
He did as he was told but couldn’t say if the tea helped either way.
“Dutton,” she said softly.
“Yeah.”
“I don’t want this to come out the wrong way, but…”
“But what?” he asked.
“I’m not sure you’re okay.” She glanced over her shoulder at him, her face full of concern. “What happened this week was a whole lot of trauma. And its brought back a whole lot of old traumas. I think it’s too much for anyone to handle alone.”
“What are you saying? That I should seek therapy?”
“Well… yes.” She reached for his hand and gripped it tightly.
“I know you blame yourself. And I also know that no amount of me telling you it isn’t your fault is going to change that.
But it’s the truth. It isn’t your fault.
None of it. Not what happened this week, and not what happened when you were living with Benny.
Plus, I’m sure there’s more to unpack about why you ended up in foster care in the first place. ”
Dutton ground his teeth together before he answered. “You’re saying my head is messed up.”
“No. I’m saying that you’ve had a lot of trauma and that therapy can help. That’s it. You deserve to understand that you’re a good person. One with a giant heart. And that no matter what label anyone in this town gives you, I know the truth. And I want you to know it, too.”
Her words touched him deep in his soul. He knew deep down that he shouldn’t blame himself for the actions of others, but that didn’t stop the guilt or the pain. Maybe she was right. One appointment to see how he felt about it wouldn’t kill him, would it? “Okay, Dahlia. I’ll give it a try.”
She whipped her head around, sending water flying. “Really?”
“Really.” He gave her a soft kiss and let his lips linger there as he ran his hands over her bare arms and then down to her thighs.
She leaned back into him. “You sure know how to change a conversation.”
He chuckled. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”